Air operated timer



Nov. 14, 1967 R. P. STRICK 3,352,322

' AIR OPERATED TIMER Original Filed March 24. 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. RUDOLF R STR/CK Arry Nov. 14, 1967 R. P. STRICK AIR OPERATED TIMER SShests-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 24, 1964 INVENTOR.

PUDOLF P- STE/CK BY w/ v Arry Patented Nov. 14, 1967 3,352,322 AIR OPERATED TIMER Rudolf P. Strick, West Roxbury, Mass., assignor to Henry v. d. Benken, West Roxbury, Mass. Continuation of application Ser. No. 354,396, Mar. 24, 1964. This application Nov. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 591,351 10 Claims. (Cl. 137-62411) ABSTRACT OF THE DTSCLGSURE There is disclosed herein a timer for operating a piston of an air operated motor for a predetermined time period that is determined by the length of time that it takes for an arm to move from a starting position to a position in which it engages a valve.

This application is a continuation of application of Ser. No. 354,396, filed Mar. 24, 1964 and now abandoned.

In operating various types of instrumentalities, it is desirable to actuate the instrumentality for a predetermined period of time and then deactuate the instrumentality. Examples of such an instrumentality is a pressing device which is held in engagement under the work for a predetermined time period and a clamping device that holds a workpiece in place for a predetermined time period while it is being treated by a work modifying device such as a cutting or embossing tool.

The present invention relates to a timer for the aforesaid purpose that is preferably operated by air. The timer includes a cylinder having a piston movable therein. An arm movable in unison with the piston is in alignment with a valve. A pointer is provided that is movably mounted and is registerable with indicia. A hand is movable alongside the pointer. The valve is adjustable toward and away from the arm in unison with the adjustment of the pointer with respect to the indicia. The parts are so constructed that the instrumentality is actuated, the piston and arm are caused to move from an idle position at a predetermined speed and the hand is caused to move from an idle position at a speed commensurate with the predetermined speed. The engagement of the arm with the valve when the hand is in alignment with pointer serves to deactuate the instrumentality and return the piston, arm and hand to their idle positions.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the timer;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the control for the timer.

The timer comprises a casing that is closed at its front by an end plate 12. Suitable supports may be provided to support the casing on a table or similar surface. A cylinder 14 is provided in the casing. The cylinder comprises a tube 16 and a pair of end caps 18 and 20. The cylinder is mounted on a pair of ledges 22 that extend rearwardly of the plate '12 by means of tie rods 24 that extend through the end caps 18 and and are threaded into the ledges 22. The cylinder has a piston 26 movable therein, and a piston rod 28 extends rearwardly of the piston through the end cap 20. A lug 30, attached to the rear end of the piston rod 28, has a bar 32 secured thereto. The bar 32 extends forwardly from the lug 30 through holes in the end caps 20 and 18. A shaft 34, having a spiral groove 36 therein, is rotatably mounted in the end cap 18 and plate 12 and has an extension 38 that extends through a hub 40 on the plate 12. A hand 42 is secured to the front of the extension 38, and a transparent pane -44 is mounted on the plate 12 in front of the hand 42.

An arm 46, secured to the forward end of the bar 32, has a pin 48 thereon that is seated in the groove 36. A gear 50, rotatably mounted on the hub 40, has a disc-shaped sheet 52 thereon, A pointer 54 is on the disc 52. A ringshaped sheet 56, fastened to the plate 12 outwardly of the disc 52, has indicia thereon that are registerable with the hand 42 and pointer 54.

A spindle 58 is rotatably mounted in the plate 12 and a hanger 60 depending from the end cap 20. The spindle 58 has a knob 61 at its front end and a gear 62 secured thereto. The gear 62 is in mesh with a gear 64 that is rotatably mounted in the plate 12. A gear 66 is rotatable with the gear 64 and is in mesh with the gear 50. A three way spring return valve 68 is in threaded engagement with a threaded portion 70 of the spindle 58. The valve 68 has a valve stem 72 that is in alignment with the arm 46 and also has prongs 74 that bear against the tube 16 and thereby prevent rotation of the valve about the axis of the spindle portion 70.

In the idle condition of the timer, the piston rod 28 is retracted into the cylinder 14 and the pin 48 is at the forward end of the groove 36 as indicated in FIG. 2. The timer may be adjusted by rotating the knob 61 which causes the valve 68 to move longitudinally along the spindle 58 and causes the disc 52 and pointer 54 to move about the hub 40.

In FIG. 5, the numeral 76 designates an instrumentality that is to be actuated by the timer. The instrumentality is illustrated as an air actuated motor that it is desired to actuate for a predetermined time to perform work by moving its piston 78 upwardly from the position shown and then returning the piston to the position shown after the lapse of the predetermined time interval. In the idle condition of the timer, pressurized air passes from a source labelled S through a line 80, a valve 82 and a line 84 to the motor 76 to maintain the piston 78 in the FIG. 5 position.

A shifting of the valve 82, as for example by shifting of the valve spindle manually by a knob 86, causes pressurized air to pass from the valve 82 through a line 88 to the motor 76 to raise the piston 78. The pressurized air that had entered the motor 76 through the line 84 is now vented from the line 84 and the valve 82 to atmosphere. The shifting of the valve 82 also causes pressurized air to pass from the valve 82, the line 88, a line 90 and a pilot line 92 to a valve 94 to shift this valve.

A line 96 extends from the line 90 to the valve 94, and a pressure regulator 88 and a reservoir 100 are incorporated in the line 96. A line 102 extends from the valve 94 into the cylinder 14 by way of the end cap .18 and a line 104 extends from the line 96 into the cylinder 14 by way of the end cap 20.

A metering valve 106 and a check valve 108 are arranged in parallel in the line 102. The metering valve 106 regulates the rate of flow of pressurized air passing through the line 102 into cylinder 14 and the check valve 108 permits pressurized air going through this line from the cylinder to bypass the metering valve 106.

A metering valve 110 and a check valve 112 are arranged in parallel in the line 104. The metering valve 110 regulates the rate of flow of pressurized air passing through the line 104 out of the cylinder 14 and the check valve 112 permits pressurized air going through this line into the cylinder to bypass the metering valve 110.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the shifting of the valve 82 causes pressurized air to pass from the line 96 at a predetermined pressure unrestrictedly through the line 104 and check valve 112 into cylinder 14 on the right side of the piston 26. At substantially the same time, the shifting of the valve 94 enables pressurized air to flow from the line 96, through the valve 94, line 102 and metering valve 106 into the cylinder 14 at the left side of the piston 26 at a restricted rate determined by the setting of the metering valve 106. Since the area of the left side of the piston 26 is greater than that at its right side, and since the force applied to the piston is the product of the pressure and the area, the build up of pressure by the air entering the cylinder through the line 102 will cause the piston to move rightwardly when the pressure has built up sufificiently to provide a greater force on the left side of the piston than on the right side of the piston. The rightward movement of the piston acts to compress the air to the right of the piston and force it out of the cylinder, through the line 104 into the reservoir 100 at a rate of flow determined by the restrictor valve 110. The efiect of the restriction of the rate of flow of the pressurized air into the cylinder through the restrictor valve 106 and the restriction of the rate of fiow of the pressurized air out of the cylinder through the restrictor valve 110 is to cause the piston 26 and piston rod 28 to move rightwardly at a substantially uniform speed that is dependent on the settings of the pressure regulator 98 and the restrictor valves 106 and 110, A check valve 114 in the line 96 prevents the pressurized air moving out of the cylinder through the line 104 from entering the line 90.

The rightward movement of the piston 26 causes the arm 46 to move rightwardly and rotate the shaft 34 through the pin 48 and groove 36. The rotation of the shaft causes the hand 42 to move clockwise (FIG. 1). These movements continue until the arm 46 engages the valve stem 72 to shift the valve 68 which takes place when the hand 42 falls into alignment with the pointer 54. The shifting of the valve 68 causes pressurized air to pass from the line 90, through the valve 68 and a pilot line 116 to the valve 82 to shift the valve 82 to its idle position, shut ofi the flow of pressurized air into the lines 88 and 90 and cause pressurized air to enter the line 84 to return the piston 78 to .its idle position. The shifting of the valve 82 also vents the air in the lines 90 and 92 throughthe valve 82 so as to enable the valve 94 to re turn to its idle condition and shut off the flow of pressurized air passing through the line 102 into the cylinder 14, and allow this air to flow out of the cylinder without restriction through the check valve 108 and vent to atmosphere through the valve 94. However, the pressurized air in the line 104 and the right side of the piston 26 cannot vent as it is blocked by the valve 94 and the check valve 114 so it, together with the. pressurized air in the reservoir 100, acts like a spring to move the piston 26 leftwardly to starting position.The leftward movement of the piston acts to shift the valve 68 and swing the pointer 42 back to their idle positions.

To summarize, the knob 61 is rotated to set the position of the valve 68 and thus adjust the time that the instrumentality represented by the motor 76 is to be actuated and to concurrently adjust the pointer 54 to indicate on the indicia on the disc 52 what that time is. The valve 82 is actuated by the knob 86 to actuate the motor 76 and to cause the piston 26 to move rightwardly at a substantially uniform speed until the arm 46 shifts the valve 68, at which time the hand 42 is in alignment with the pointer 54. The actuation of the valve 68 causesthe motor 76 to be deactuated and the timer parts to reutrn to their idle position.

I claim:

1. A timer for actuating an, instrumentality for a pre-- determined period of time comprising: an arm mounted for movement; a control member positioned in alignment with the arm; means for initially maintaining the arm in an idle position; drive means actuable to concomitantly actuate the instrumentality and move the arm away from its idle position at a predetermined speed; control means actuable in response to the engagement of the arm with the control member after the arm has travelled a predetermined distance to concomitantly terminate the movement of the arm and, deactuate the instrumentality; means for moving the control member to adjust the distance. between the control member and the arm in its idle position to thereby adjust the distance of travel. of the arm at said predetermined speed; indicia; a pointer mounted for movement that is registerable with the indicia; means operative concomitantly with the movement of the control member to adjust the position of the pointer with respect to the indicia a hand mounted for movement alongside the pointer; means for initially maintaining the hand in an idle position; means responsive to actuation of the drive means to move the hand away from its idle position at a speed that is commensurate with the speed of the arm; means operative in response to actuation of the control means to terminate the movement of the hand; and means so constructing and arranging the aforesaid parts that the hand is in alignment with the pointer when the movement of the hand is terminated.

2. The timer as defined in claim 1 further comprising: means responsive to actuation of the control means to re turn the arm and the hand to their idle positions.

3. A timer for actuating an instrumentality for a predetermined period of time comprising: a cylinder; a piston mounted for movement in the cylinder; an arm mounted for movement with the piston; a valve positioned in alignment with the arm; means for initially maintaining the piston in the cylinder and the arm in idle positions; drive means actuable to concomitantly actuate the instrumentality and move the piston and the arm away from their idle positions at a predetermined speed; control means actuable in response to the engagement of the arm with the valve after the piston and the arm have travelled a predetermined distance to concomitantly terminate the movement of the piston and the arm and deactuate the instrumentality; means for moving the valve to adjust the distance between the valve and the arm in its idle position to thereby adjust the distance of travel of the arm at said predetermined speed; a first sheet; indicia on the first sheet; a second sheet mounted for movement with respect to the first sheet; a pointer on the second sheet that is registerable with the indicia on the first sheet; and means operative concomitantly with the movement of the valve to move the second sheet to adjust the position of the pointer with respect to the indicia.

4. The timer as defined in claim 3 further comprising: a hand mounted for movement alongside the second sheet; and means interconnecting the arm and hand whereby the hand'is initially maintained in an idle position, the movement of the arm away from its idle position in response to actuation of the drive means causes movement of the hand away from its idle position at a speed that is commensurate with the speed of the arm, and the actuation of the control means causes the movement of the hand to stop whenit is in alignment with the pointer.

5. The timer. as defined in claim 3 further comprising: means responsive to actuation of thecontrol means to return the piston and the arm to their idle positions.

6. The timer as defined in claim 4 further comprising:.

means responsive to actuation of the control means to return the piston, the arm and the hand to their idle positions.

7. A timer for actuating an instrumentality for a predetermined period of time comprising: a casing; a cylinder mounted in the casing; a piston, having a piston rod thereon, mounted for movement in the cylinder; a plate on the casing; a ring on the plate; indicia on the ring; a disc positioned alongside the ring and mounted for rotation about the axis of the ring; a pointer on the disc that is registerable with the indicia on the ring; an arm connected to the piston rod for movement therewith; a valve positioned in alignment with the arm; a spindle rotatably mounted in the casing; connections between the spindle, the valve and the disc so constructed and arranged as to move the valve toward or away from the arm and to move the disc one way or the other about the axis of the ring in response to rotation of the spindle one Way or the other; means for initially maintaining the piston rod and the arm in idle positions; drive means actuable to concomitantly actuate the instrumentality and move the piston rod and arm away from their idle positions at a predetermined speed; and control means actuable in response to the engagement of the arm with the valve after the piston rod and the arm have travelled a predetermined distance to concomitantly terminate the movement of the piston rod and arm and deactuate the instrumentality.

8. The timer as defined in claim 7 further comprising: means responsive to actuation of the control means to return the piston rod and arm to their idle positions.

9. A timer for actuating an instrumentality for a predetermined period of time comprising: a casing; a cylinder mounted in the casing; a piston, having a piston rod thereon, mounted for movement in the cylinder; a plate on the casing; a ring on the plate; indicia on the ring; a shaft rotatably mounted in the plate; a hand fixed to the shaft for rotation therewith; a disc mounted for rotation about the shaft positioned alongside the hand; a pointer on the disc that is registerable with the indicia on the ring; an arm connected to the piston rod for movement therewith; a connection between the arm and the shaft operative to rotate the shaft together with the hand in response to movement of the piston rod and the arm; a valve positioned in alignment with the arm; a spindle rotatably mounted in the casing; connections between the spindle, the valve and the disc so constructed and arranged as to move the valve toward or away from the arm and to move the disc and pointer one way or the other about the shaft in response to rotation of the spindle one way or the other; means for initially maintaining the piston rod, the arm and the hand in idle positions; drive means actuable to concomitantly actuate the instrumentality, move the piston rod and arm away from their idle positions at a predetermined speed and rotate the hand away from its idle position at a speed commensurate with the speed of the piston rod and arm; and control means actuable in response to the engagement of the arm with the valve after the piston rod and the arm have travelled a predetermined distance such that the hand is in substantial alignment with the pointer to concomitantly terminate the movement of the piston rod, arm and hand and deactuate the instrumentality.

10. The timer as defined in claim 9 further comprising: means responsive to actuation of the control means to return the piston rod, arm and hand to their idle positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ALAN COI-IAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A TIMER FOR ACTUATING AN INSTRUMENTALITY FOR A PREDETERMINED PERIOD OF TIME COMPRISING: AN ARM MOUNTED FOR MOVEMENT; A CONTROL MEMBER POSITIONED IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE ARM; MEANS FOR INITIALLY MAINTAINING THE ARM IN AN IDLE POSITION; DRIVE MEANS ACTUABLE TO CONCOMITANTLY ACTUATE THE INSTRUMENTALITY AND MOVE THE ARM AWAY FROM ITS IDLE POSITION AT A PREDETERMINED SPEED; CONTROL MEANS ACTUABLE IN RESPONSE TO THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE ARM WITH THE CONTROL MEMBER AFTER THE ARM HAS TRAVELLED A PREDETERMINED DISTANCE TO CONCOMITANTLY TERMINATE THE MOVEMENT OF THE ARM AND DEACTUATE THE INSTRUMENTALITY; MEANS FOR MOVING THE CONTROL MEMBER TO ADJUST THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CONTROL MEMBER AND THE ARM IN ITS IDLE POSITION TO THEREBY ADJUST THE DISTANCE OF TRAVEL OF THE ARM AT SAID PREDETERMINED SPEED; INDICIA; A POINTER MOUNTED FOR MOVE- 